Helena's Turning

Part 2

When Helena returned to the world she was no longer restrained but lay flat on her back with her hands resting serenely on her stomach – a classic funereal pose. She felt comfortable and warm, and for now she did not want to move so she stayed where she was, gazing calmly at the ceiling. She floated mentally; aware that this was not where she had been in her last memories, but not caring why or where she was now. She did not recall dying, just the bliss in which it had happened.

A hand reached across and lay upon her cheek, and gently pulled her face towards its owner. The events of last night returned to her as she saw again the face of the man who had killed her. She took a sharp intake of breath, and in so doing, realised that until that point she had not been breathing. Tension crept over her as she remembered how he had taken her body and her blood.

"Shhh," he said, "I have already killed you, I can do no more and I would not anyway. You are a vampire now, as I am and you know in your heart this is true. You knew it when you gave yourself to me and that giving is what makes you Undead now instead merely a dried corpse.

"When you have more fully recovered from the sleep of death, I will explain to you about how it works, what is mere superstition and what is fact about our kind, and how you will live day-to-day in a world that is ignorant of our existence. But for now, rest yourself. Strength will return soon enough."

Helena trembled as she realised that she had taken an irrevocable step into a different life, or undeath as she later supposed it should rightly be called. She wanted to go back, undo the deeds of last night, return to life as a 19 year-old student with a place in the world already waiting for her. Yet, in her most simple emotional responses she knew that this was an escape from a life that she hadn't wanted. She felt that she belonged here, in a way she never had in all her time in the normal world.

When she felt well enough, she sat up. She discovered that the 'bed' on which she had been lying was in fact a low stone plinth placed centrally in a richly furnished room that made it seem out of place. The man who had fed on her and filled her was sat quietly watching.

"Ah, you are ready," he said. "There are some things that you must know before leaving here. As a vampire, you have already mutated and changed. You have a much stronger cardio-vascular system, and only immense damage to the heart can destroy it, which is why the traditional death is a stake through the heart. Even then, the stake must remain there for a long time before your existence is terminated. High-power rounds from modern firearms also do enough damage in the chest cavity to kill, but another of the changes is that your flesh is of varying hardness. You can take a lot of physical impacts, but can also soften yourself so that even a high-power round will pass straight through. But you need to know it's coming to be able to change.

"You do have fangs, as you know from experience I have. Most of the time they are retracted into sheaths in the roof of your mouth, and so that you need not spend a dangerous time learning to control them, an instinctive mechanism has developed in your brainstem. Only when you are feeding or in threat will they emerge, at least at first. You will eventually learn to control them at will, except for strong instinctive moments of danger.

"The important issue of how you can die is covered largely by the effects of your new physiology as I explained. Only extremely severe damage to your body can kill you. Decapitation is the most likely in this day and age. Fire will kill as long as it is hot enough and you are burned for long enough. And of course there is the sun. It is not as dramatic as the films would have you believe, but it does kill. Usually half an hour of direct sunlight will give you a fatal dose of sunburn, but it is easily countered by wearing a very strong sun cream.

"You do need to drink blood regularly, but you can eat other foods as well, they simply won't give you any sustenance. You will feel when you need to feed, there is a distinctive type of hunger that does not match any sensation that a human experiences. You will know it for what it is, without a doubt – it is pure instinct.

"And now it is time that you hunted for your first meal. Very soon you will know how it feels to be hungry, and I would prefer to be on the move by then."

"But won't it be daylight outside?" asked Helena.

"Ah, you believe you have woken as if after a night's sleep. You have been clinically dead for eighteen hours and it is now dusk on the evening after the night I turned you. But I will explain about such past things later, for now you know that you need blood, how you can die, and how to avoid dying. Let us go now to hunt!"

First, the vampire led her to a vast wardrobe, where she could choose an outfit for the hunt. Helena did not want to think about what that meant, the inevitability of someone's death implied in the word. She concentrated instead on the clothes. These were costumes and items that were leagues above what a student could hope to dream of owning – clothing suited to the very best and the most fashionable of high society, the top-level celebrities. Even the casual, dressing-down clothes were clearly made to look worn-out, rather than it being the simple effect of poverty and long use. Helena could become the woman she always dreamed she could be, make herself look like the icy-warm dark queen lover that she had often imagined. She could be like that goddess, one glance of whom could send men to their graves if she commanded it – and look like she would command it, too.

Yet there was a nagging urgency that she felt, that she could not place. She decided that she would have time enough later to decide upon her best image as a vampire, and settled for something dark-red: a long dress, tight and revealing. She could have fun tonight like she had never done before, setting jaws dropping all over town, and desired by all who saw her. Watched by the man who had given her this chance, she dressed quickly and announced that she was ready to go.

He looked Helena up and down, but said nothing, simply taking her by the hand and leading her to a mirror. Make-up proved unnecessary for, as soon as she made a decision to apply some colour, the skin there changed hue subtly so that the effect she sought was achieved without artificial aid. Her appearance was naturally easy to manage, there was little else she could do but go with the natural paleness when alive, and more so now. Her dramatic yet understated lips turned themselves a deep crimson, and her face and eyes seemed to avoid the off-putting deathly look, creating precisely the right balance of ice and fire that she wanted.

Her hair, however, needed some attention, and for the first time in a long time, she decided that the image she had achieved worked best with it worn up. Curiously, maybe yet another effect of the vampiric mutations affecting her, it was a lot easier than she had imagined to achieve everything she wanted. In front of the full-length mirror (for the first time noticing that this meant that vampires had reflections after all) she saw how she had transformed herself into the image she originally chose.

No longer could she wait. The urgency she felt was increasing, and she wanted to away to the party, the club, wherever it was that she could show off her new self.

Her lover and teacher (whose name she still did not know) took her around the waist and guided her through his home to an exit. She was puzzled that she could remember none of that journey, but was certain that the door by which they left was not the one by which she had entered the night before. She was disappointed that it seemed like they would be walking, for he did not attempt to find a vehicle, but continued to guide her feet down the road. However, after only a short time it seemed that they had covered a surprising amount of ground, and when she looked down at their feet, although she could clearly feel the asphalt underfoot, they were not actually touching the pavement at all. In this way, they were travelling far faster than anyone could on foot.

As they approached their destination, Helena noticed that their speed slowed and that her feet were once more touching the floor. There were other people about, people intending to pass a few hours drinking and dancing. It was time to blend in.

Helena was disappointed that the club that her companion had chosen was not of a similar high class to the wardrobe he had shown her. This was one of the less salubrious places in the city, and one that as a student here she had made a conscious decision to avoid. At least she would face no awkward questions from people she knew.

She assumed that the ease with which they entered had something to do with the sheer presence that their appearance gave them. Nobody had complained as they went straight to the head of the queue and breezed in. It seemed that nobody thought to ask them for the usual price of admission.

Inside there was the usual surging throng of humanity in various states of arousal, exercise and inebriation. There was something new in the scent that came to Helena. Something enticing and something dark. Unmistakably, the smell of live blood coursing through the bodies of the dancers. Helena felt a subcutaneous shiver of rebellion against the idea that she had thus far avoided. That she would end up murdering in order to survive, that she would take on the role of the predator. She was determined that she would somehow survive as a "normal" human being while embracing the life of a vampire. She would spend this night as she would any other visit to the nightlife of a student city. She peeled off from her companion and set out to enjoy herself.

Immediately, Helena was aware of the admiring looks all around her, the effect of her makeover being felt as powerfully as she could have hoped. She barely had time to approach the bar before she was hit on.

To her surprise, it was not a man but a woman who had made the approach. There was something deeply sensual about the way this girl (she was younger than Helena, although how she knew with such certainty she did not know) made her approach. Helena half-remembered something about how it was that lesbians were much better equipped to know how to attract their intended partners, by virtue of being so much more aware of what turned a woman on. Whatever it was, there was something that made Helena respond to the approach more positively than she had ever thought she would. Before she was really aware of it, she and this girl were flirting heavily with one another. Helena decided that she liked this – the point was that she was being admired for her body and her outfit, just as she had imagined. It didn't seem to be an important issue whether the admirer was male or female.

The girl had short, dark hair that looked as if it was dyed, and large breasts that swelled out of her short, tight plastic dress. This girl had gone for a trashy, sluttish look and achieved it but was clearly a stunner underneath: it was just that tonight she was perhaps after a cheap thrill. She was slightly shorter than Helena and a little more heavily built, and dressed differently might have qualified on appearance grounds as a regular hard dyke.

Helena did not think twice as her flirting grew ever more serious with her new friend. Indeed, it had gone beyond flirting now as they danced ever closer, and she had still not pulled back. Something about this young woman made the idea of sex with her seem perfectly normal, and there was no doubt that she was determined to bed Helena if at all possible. Helena had never before had any interest in exploring same-sex relationships before, but she had already had one liberating experience in the past twenty-four hours, so why not seize this one as well? It could be fun, it would certainly be educational...and it just felt so right.

Her companion, despite being barely eighteen by any guess Helena could make, had clearly done this many times before, for her knowledge of how to move things along was well-tuned. It wasn't long before she suggested, "Why don't we find somewhere a little more private to carry on?" and led Helena out of the club into the dark night outside.

About five minutes' walk from the club was a small park with some nicely secluded areas, perfect for concealing the young and horny in action. Helena's partner seemed to know exactly where she was going, and her breath suggested that she was anxious to get started. A thicket up against one of the buildings hid a relatively untouched piece of wall, where no doubt others had tasted the forbidden fruit about to be offered to Helena.

The nameless girl almost flung Helena against the wall, panting and desperate for the imminent physical contact. The beautiful dress fell victim to the appetite of the two girls, torn in their eagerness for Helena to shed it. The unwanted fabric fell away, repairable perhaps, but ignored as the girl's mouth closed completely over Helena's. Helena spared no thought to her altered state as she returned the hungry kiss, but some part of her must have felt triumph that they did not stir or threaten this delectable young temptress. Helena's hands worked to remove the other girl's clothes as their lips meshed, pulling free the tight plastic from her upper body. The night was a mild one, and neither girl noticed the cold air.

Nameless girl broke the kiss as she felt her dress peeling free, and moved her hands to her hips to carry on the process, while she carefully sank towards the ground taking the plastic with her. Her mouth traced its own path down Helena's chest and belly so that when the dress was on the floor her lips were kissing the inside of Helena's thighs. With the dress safely removed, Nameless began working her way back up Helena's body. Helena had never had such attentive treatment from a man, although she had sensed the capacity there last night...

Helena shivered from the sensual pleasure as Nameless reached her breasts, Helena's hands reaching for the same area of Nameless's body. Nameless began toying with Helena's nipple, sucking, flicking with the tongue, a slight nip of the teeth building a tapestry of sensation so expertly that Helena could feel the desire swelling inside her, and there was no mistaking the quality of the moans that escaped her lips. All the while, her own fingers were softly kneading and stroking the ample substance of her partner's breasts.

Nameless began moving downwards again, and there was no doubt about her intention. No light kiss on the thighs this time, but an expert tongue licking at Helena's clit, lips sucking and stimulating.

"Oh, God, that's incredible," gasped Helena, the wave of arousal hitting her anew, her breath coming in pants as she was carried on a tide of pleasure. By now, all doubts were gone and she was riding the experiences wherever they took her. She was still in rhapsody when Nameless pulled back and breathed, "I can't let you have all the pleasure – why don't you try your stuff on me now?" The two girls swapped places and it was Helena's turn to suck on female flesh. Nameless used her hands on Helena's head to guide her between her legs. Helena had never had her face anywhere near another woman's fanny before and wasn't sure what to do now, but the memory of Nameless' expert manipulation spurred her on, as she let the sweet scent of the girl's arousal pull her in. Her tongue extended and began to lick around the rim of Nameless' pussy-lips, and she was rewarded by sounds of pleasure from Nameless.

"Hey, you're pretty good for a first-timer!" remarked Nameless as Helena began to push her tongue deeper, flexing it more to try to create a better pleasure for Nameless. It seemed to be working, because Nameless was no longer speaking in words, just excited breathing. That was when it happened.

The taste of Nameless' pussy juices might have triggered it, Helena didn't know. All she knew was that, by no will of her own, she had drawn back a little way and then her fangs had sunk their way into Nameless, impaling the walls of her pussy just inside the opening. The reaction was instant.

"Jesus, what are you doing? It feels like you've got a fucking knitting needle down there!" exclaimed Nameless, causing Helena to pull right out instantly. But the taste of blood charged with sexual arousal had already passed her lips, and the thirst was on her. Without thinking, she leapt to her feet and bit hard into Nameless' throat, sucking deeply as the fresh arterial blood pumped into her desperate body. Helena's arms clung tightly around Nameless, imprisoning her and taking her weight as the strength drained rapidly from her limbs and into Helena's stomach.

The warm, salty blood felt to Helena like it was coating all her insides, and it tasted so sweet, sweeter than she had ever imagined for to her vampiric body there was nothing more vital than the consumption of this fluid. With the power of her hunger, not one drop escaped from the wound in Nameless' neck, and Helena kept sucking long after all life had left the body of her victim. The corpse was as dry as it could be when Helena let it slide limply to the ground, to rest in a pool of the blood that had poured from the gaping wound in Nameless' vagina. Helena, still naked, looked down at what she had done and smiled. She had thought she could deny what she was, that her life could remain unchanged by the changes that had taken place within her. That delusion was dead now, and a new facet to her personality had blossomed. Yet still, there was a part of her that felt revulsion.

Just then, another person with whom she had had sex, without even knowing his name, arrived. The vampire, he who had brought her to this point.

"I see you have taken your first meal," he mused, "You might at least have saved some for me! But it doesn't matter. We must leave this place at once." With that decisive statement, he extended an arm and Helena watched as the nameless girl and both girls' clothes shrivelled and blackened as though consumed by an invisible fire, eventually disintegrating into three dust clouds that were quickly scattered. Helena was about to protest her nakedness, and demand to know how she would get home without being noticed, when the vampire put his arm around her and demonstrated another power, that of flight. Helena held her eyes tightly closed throughout the flight, her emotions still in turmoil after her murder of an unknown student.